With The Federal Shutdown Entering Its Fifth Week, House & Senate Republican Leaders Place Blame Squarely On Democrats As 40 Million-Plus SNAP Recipients Face Benefits Cutoff On Saturday

Wednesday, October 29, 2025, 6:30 P.M. ET. 4 Minute Read, By Jennifer Hodges, Political Editor: Englebrook Independent News,

WASHINGTON, DC.- On the 29th day of the federal government shutdown triggered by Congress’s failure to pass a full-year appropriation’s continuing resolution, Republican leaders in both the House and Senate intensified criticism of Democratic lawmakers,  arguing the burden of the stalemate is now shifting squarely onto the American people.

     At a 10:00 a.m. press conference in the Capitol this morning, House Speaker Mike Johnson stomped home the message: the House has already passed what Republicans call a “Clean” Continuing Resolution, and it is Senate Democrats who are refusing to join the reopening effort. He underscored that major labor unions, among them the American Federation of Government Employees, the Teamsters, Pilot and Air-Traffic-Controller Associations, have publicly called on Senate Democrats to end the shutdown, effectively siding with Republicans in the blame game. According to Johnson:

     “It is a shame that Democrats need to be publicly prodded by millions of hardworking Americans to just simply do the most basic function of their jobs. … You’ve got families and children that rely upon SNAP benefits that are going to go hungry here at the end of the week.”

     Johnson warned that “on Saturday, this gets very real,” referring to the looming expiration of monthly benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has warned that unless additional funding is secured or emergency contingency funds tapped, SNAP payments, which support roughly 40–42 million Americans, will not be issued as scheduled on November 1.

     Johnson repeated the GOP position that the administration lacks the legal authority to unilaterally draw on the USDA’s existing emergency contingency fund, which is approximately $5 billion, to cover the full anticipated cost of November’s SNAP benefits, which is estimated at about $9.2 billion.

     He further urged that unions pushing Senate Democrats to act indicates mounting pressure, and the House is ready. “A rational person would read the pleas of the federal workers and conclude that it is time to end the charade and turn the lights back on,” he said.

     On the Senate floor today, John Thune, the Senate Majority Leader, reiterated the GOP’s stance that the Democrats’ refusal to vote for a “Clean” Continuing Resolution has backed them into a corner. According to Thune, Republicans have already offered the legislation to reopen the government 13 times, but Democrats continue to block it. In a statement, he said:

     “The last four years under President Biden, 13 different occasions, 13 different occasions, they voted for a clean continuing resolution to fund the government. … Now explain that logic to the American people, who are the ones that are experiencing the pain and the consequence of their shutdown.”

     Thune also addressed remarks from Senate Democrats, including Chuck Schumer, Chris Coons, and House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, suggesting the pain felt by Americans is unfortunate but serves political leverage. Thune responded:

     “They say people will suffer. But that is their only leverage. They are using the very people hurt by this shutdown as pawns.”

     He made the case that Senate Democrats are losing ground by blaming Republicans, when in fact, according to the GOP view, it is the Democrats themselves who are prolonging the shutdown. “They need to stop blaming Republicans when it is Democrats causing the pain and suffering the American people are feeling,” Thune added.

Why The Pain Will Get Worse;

With the shutdown now entering its fifth week, the consequences are cascading:

• If SNAP benefits lapse as scheduled on Saturday, more than 40 million low-income Americans, including children, seniors, and persons with disabilities, risk losing access to their monthly grocery assistance.
• The USDA’s refusal (so far) to tap the $5 billion emergency contingency fund means that, even if it were used, it would not cover the full estimated $9.2 billion cost for November, potentially leaving a funding gap of ~$4.2 billion. 
• Federal employees continue to work without pay or face furloughs, including air traffic controllers and TSA staff, raising concerns about operations, security, and family finances.
• State governments are sounding alarms, and more than 20 (reported as 24) Democratic-led states have filed lawsuits seeking to force the Trump administration to use the USDA contingency fund to keep SNAP and other programs intact. 
• As the economic ripple spreads, analysts forecast lower GDP growth, delays in economic data releases, and increased strain on food banks and social service providers.

     If the shutdown drags on beyond the Saturday cutoff, the scale of harm is expected to broaden: more families skipping meals, increased demand for emergency services, ripple effects into local economies, and heightened political risk for lawmakers.

What’s Next;

     With the Senate unable to muster 60 votes to advance the House-passed Continuing Resolution and Senate Democrats resisting, the standoff continues. The GOP message is clear: the solution is simple, reopen the government, and the Democrats must decide whether to act. The Democrats’ message, meanwhile, emphasizes that reopening alone is insufficient without protections such as health-care subsidies and other priorities.

     For the American people, the immediate timeframe is critical: if benefits expire on Saturday, the consequences for millions will be very real. As Speaker Johnson warned, “On Saturday morning, when SNAP benefits will expire … the hardship becomes undeniable.” 

Editor’s Note:

Written by Jennifer Hodges, Political Editor for Englebrook Independent News, based on publicly available statements by House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, and reporting from multiple news outlets, including Politico, AP News, and others. Any paraphrasing of their remarks is placed in quotation marks where sourced.